What if I told you that there was a simple way to improve your muscular endurance, reduce your respiratory rate when running, reduce the production of lactic acid, slash your cortisol build up in half, allowing for faster recovery times after every run? I bet you’d be all over it, right? And then you might be asking, what’s the catch?
My guest today is Dr Dena Garner and she’s spent the last 17 years of her career researching and developing a very simple product that promises to do just that.
Now, before I get into what this is all about, I have to tell you that when I first heard of this, I was immediately skeptical, because it sounds just too strange to be true. But let’s jump in and find out.
Dr Garner is a professor at The Citadel, one of six senior military colleges in the United States. She has degrees in exercise science and muscle physiology as well as a postdoctoral fellowship in neurology.
At The Citadel, her research has concentrated on the effects of a mouthpiece inserted over the lower teeth during exercise. She measures physiological parameters of her subjects while using the mouthpiece, including levels of lactate and cortisol, as well as respiratory rate and has found some pretty incredible results.
Her research has shown that the specific way you place your jaw and tongue, aided by a mouthpiece, results in a physiological change in the airway, which improves performance outcomes. In addition to opening your airway, when you bite or clench down on the mouthpiece during exercise, research cites an increase in cerebral blood flow, which may be the link to the improvements in cortisol and lactate.
Okay, okay, I know what you are thinking. This is pretty weird, right? And I’m not afraid to say that to Dr Garner in our conversation.
But, if you think about it, it could make sense. Think about when you are concentrating hard on something. Many people instinctively clench their teeth or chew on a pencil or their lip or a necklace or bite their nails. Why do we do that? What if it’s not just a habit your mom tries to get you to stop doing? What if it’s a stress-relieving mechanism that’s evolved over time that actually does help us?
I don’t know about all that, but what I do know is that this research is absolutely fascinating to me and potentially could be a gamechanger in performance and recovery. Let’s find out.
Questions:
- You have a very interesting background with degrees in exercise science, muscle physiology, and neurology. What excites you most about those fields?
- Can you describe what happens neurologically when we run?
- Let’s talk about the role of cortisol and exercise. It’s typically referred to as the “stress hormone” but it serves an important role, doesn’t it?
- What happens when there is too much cortisol? Not enough?
- I’d love to talk a little bit about lactate and lactic acid. This is something that I feel is commonly misunderstood in the general public. Can you describe this process during exercise? How does it relate to the “burning” sensation in our legs?
- A truly fascinating part of your research has to do with the study of using a mouthpiece during exercise. Can you describe what you found? How does it work?
- What is the history of this work? Who thought of this in the first place?
- How does the AirWaav change the airway?
- I’ve recently gotten the chance to try it out on an easy run and I admit it does take some getting used to. How do I know I’m using it correctly? What should I expect with continued use?
- Besides running, you have found that it increases performance in the gym as well. Can you talk about what is happening there?
- Where do you see this technology being used in the future? Any applications outside of exercise?
- What questions are still left unanswered in your research? What is next for you?
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This week’s show brought to you by: LMNT Watermelon
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